*** UPDATE! As promised, we are announcing the winners for THIS blog today!  The winners of Lori’s book, LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT are: Anneliese Carinc, Deanna, Faye Hughes, Julie S., Monica C., Sharlene Wegner, Alisha Woods, Becky, Cheryl S., and Melissa Becker.  Congratulations!  Please email me at: christie (at) christie-craig.com and let me know if you’d prefer print (with your snail mail) or e-book (Amazon or B&N.)

And, for awarding the novella, ONE TRUE LOVE, Lori has graciously decided to give a copy to EVERYONE who commented.  Yes, that’s right, everyone!  How wonderful is she?  Just shoot her an email at: loriwilde (at) aol.com and let her know if you prefer print or ebook as well.  Thanks for blogging, everyone!

WINNERS!  WINNERS!  The winners from last week’s blog with Abigail Sharpe are: Barbara Elness and Joelle.  Email me at: christie (at) christie-craig.com and let me know if you prefer print (with your snail mail addy) or e-book (either Amazon or B&N.)  Congrats!

Today, I have my very good friend, Lori Wilde as a guest.  She’s not only my friend, she’s a spectacular writer, and I’m so excited to have her here talking about her book, Love at First Sight, which releases TODAY!  I’ll be giving away TWENTY prizes so keep reading!  Now, without further adieu, take it away, Lori . . .

I’m so excited about the release of LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT, the first book in my Cupid, Texas series.

Cupid is a fictional town set in the Trans-Pecos of Texas. It’s based on an amalgamation of Alpine, Marfa and Fort Davis, although all three real towns make an appearance in the series.

The Trans-Pecos is the home of the Davis Mountains that rise out of the Chihuahuan desert. It’s an eerily beautiful place, both harsh and majestic. The people who live there are a special breed of resilient individualists. In this isolated country, they understand the priceless value of community. It’s a land like no other.

My husband and I made a recent trip to Fort Davis and we were lucky to see the mysterious Marfa lights that make an appearance in LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to get a good picture of them. But like my hero and heroine, Dade and Natalie, my husband and I did get to visit Prada Marfa. This piece of unique art in the middle of the desert put a smile on my face.

Hopefully, I did justice to this wonderful land in the pages of my books. If you ever get a chance to visit the Davis Mountains, jump at it! Any trip there will be memorable.

I’m giving away ten copies of ONE TRUE LOVE, the prequel novella to the Cupid, Texas series. Leave a comment to be entered in the drawing and specify if you’d like ebook or print copy.

What about you? Have you ever been to a place that struck an emotional chord inside you?

Thanks, Lori!  So, today, besides Lori’s gifts, I’m giving away TEN copies of LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT, her novel that releases today!  So don’t forget to leave those comments!  You have between now and Friday to enter then- this is a little different – check back right here on FRIDAY to see if you’ve won!  Good luck and Happy Reading! 

I’m thrilled to have the wonderful Abigail Sharpe as my guest today to talk about her book, Who Wants to Marry a Cowboy!  I had the pleasure of reading this gem, and it is utterly charming and witty and a true delight!  You’re gonna love her!  So, stick around, leave a comment, and you might get lucky and win one of two copies of her book I’m giving away!

So, Abigail, your book is about marrying a cowboy.  Do you love cowboys and/or did you marry one?

First, thank you for having me here.  Your books are so amazing and I’m thrilled you enjoyed mine.

Cowboys make the best heroes, don’t they?  They’re sexy, independent, know how to fill out a pair of jeans and rock a Stetson.  And while I adore them in their fictional world, I might have trouble living on a ranch.  I’m more of a city girl in that respect.

Thanks, Abigail!  So, tell me, which three words do you think best describe your book?

Fun, flirty, sexy.

The funny thing is, while I included love scenes in Who Wants to Marry a Cowboy, I was still so new at writing them that I didn’t think they were anything special.  A lot of reviewer blogs, however, mentioned the chemistry between Ainsley and Riley and their sexy scenes.  I guess I was on to something.

Yes, you were.  Now, name three things you have in common with your hero or heroine.

Oooh, tough one.  I have more in common with one of the tertiary characters who visits the ranch as woman who wants to marry a cowboy.  As for my heroine – Ainsley tries to please everyone at the sacrifice of her own happiness.  I don’t go that far, but if there’s something I can do to make my family happy, I’ll do it.  Maybe not hightail it to Wyoming for a ranch vacation, however.  I also like fixing things around the house when I can, like a worn door knob.  Ainsley can do that and so much more. 

What have you learned about people since you’ve become an author? 

Daily interactions are fodder for stories or can be used for inspiration.  The world is such an interesting place.  Ideas are there if you let them come to you.

So true.  And have your parents or family read your book and/or love scenes?  How does that make you feel?

My mom is waiting to see me to get her autographed copy.  I’m still slightly mortified by the thought of her reading the love scenes.  My kids are 11 and 9 – and boys – so they haven’t read it.

As for my husband… He supports me in so many ways.  He doesn’t complain if I ditch the family after dinner or on the weekends to write.  I’ve spent the last three weekends away from home because I was presenting workshops at different RWA chapters.  He takes on my responsibilities when I do that, like picking the kids up from school.  We work on our household budget together so I can go to conferences.  Now, he’s not a romance reader, and I kinda don’t want him to read Who Wants to Marry a Cowboy– my biggest fear being he won’t enjoy it, and then he’d have to lie to me.  I don’t need him to read it to know I have his love and support.

What is your pet peeve?

It’s awful, and I need to get over it.  Are you ready?

I hate when people end sentences with the word at.  Like, instead of saying, “where is it?” they’ll say, “Where’s it at?”  The people I work with know this about me, and will tease me by purposefully ending sentences that way.  It’s funny, but it drives me nuts at the same time.

Okay, last one . . . it’s a doozy . . . Is your hero a boxers, briefs, or commando kinda guy?

Tighty-whities all the way!  Which is ironic – I love a man in boxers. 

Thanks for the intriguing questions!

No problem.  Loved having you here!  So, now it’s everyone else’s turn!  Tell us, do you love a man in boxers, briefs, or commando style?  Or, you can be tame and just tell us if you want to marry a cowboy.  That’ll be fine, too, LOL.  Two lucky winners will win a copy of Abigail’s book, Who Wants to Marry a Cowboy!  Good luck and check back next week!

Available now at Amazon : http://tinyurl.com/d5bf964

Barnes and Noble: 

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/who-wants-to-marry-a-cowboy-abigail-sharpe/1112412063?ean=9781455575916

WINNERS!  WINNERS!  The winners of last week’s blog with Mari Mancusi are: Diane and bn100.  Please email me at: christie (at) christie-craig.com and let me know if you’d prefer print or e-book and either your snail mail addy or if you’d prefer Amazon or B&N for e-book.  Congrats!

Mother’s Day has just passed us, and a couple weeks ago, something happened and I was reminded of the amazing power and devotion that stems from maternal instincts.  Instincts that aren’t just human, but are found in all animals.  Yup, squirrels are mamas, too.

I was doing what I do most of the time.  Working.  Lady, my junkyard dog, was resting on my office sofa, gazing out the French doors that overlook my backyard.  She wasn’t just being lazy.  Oh, no, she has a job to do.  She is forever on squirrel duty and takes her job very seriously.  Ahh, but this day she was quite tired from destroying another of her doggy toys, this one a stuffed squirrel, that she’d managed to sneak outside.

You see, Lady is anti-squirrel, and I think she got too much joy ripping the toy to shreds as all the yard squirrels watched on.   Now, she’s a wonderful dog as long as you aren’t a squirrel.  Anyway, while it was a pretty day, blue skies and puffy white clouds, the wind had kicked up.  The strong gusts sent the trees dancing and the innards of the stuffed squirrel were strewn across my yard.

Then I heard it.  A loud thump, like a small tree limb hitting the ground.  Lady, ever attentive to the outside world, bolted to the French doors.  She stood there, her attention riveted.

Then, she came hurdling over to me and put her paws on the desk, barking, which she seldom does.  In doggy language that means, “I want outside…NOW!”

I went to let her out, but something gave me pause.  She was too eager.  So, I squeezed out the door, forcing her to stay inside.

I spotted the reason for her eagerness.  There, on my concrete patio, was a broken nest of sorts.  And outside the nest were four baby squirrels.  My stomach clutched as I drew near, thinking the fall had killed them.  But nope, they were all breathing, just too little to run away.  Lady whined behind me at the French doors, anxious to come out and do her squirrel duty. 

I stood there trying to think what to do.  I had to let Lady out sooner or later.  Right then a loud noise erupted—a half cry, half scream.  I looked around and there, clutching a nearby tree trunk, was another squirrel.  I knew that this was the mama. 

I could hear the panic and devastation in her loud chirps.  Her babies were in danger and could even be dead.   I stepped back.  “I’m not gonna hurt them,” I assured her, and my heart hurt for her.  But was there anything I could do?

Since I knew squirrels weren’t like possums that could hang onto their mama’s back, and these babies were too young to climb, I imagined the worst outcome.  Her babies weren’t going to make it.  And from the heartfelt sounds she made, the mama squirrel knew it, too.   And bam, just like that, I remembered when they took my five-week premature son into surgery.  The fear, the heartache, I felt was as real right then as it was years ago.

Feeling helpless, yet desperate to help, I went inside and called my hubby, wondering if I should collect the babies and take them to the wildlife vet.  He didn’t answer his cell phone, so I started to go outside again, but a movement outside the window had me stop.  The mama squirrel had rushed to her babies, sniffing and nudging them with her nose.  Then what she did next completely surprised me.  She opened her mouth and stuffed a baby inside.  Even though it appeared impossible, she got the entire little body in there.  With only the baby’s tail hanging out, she climbed back up the tree.  It wasn’t an easy climb, once or twice I worried she would fall.  She would stop as if to catch her breath.   It appeared as if she’d either found an empty nest or had just borrowed a friend’s nest to leave the first baby.   Then, one by one, she collected the others.  With maternal strength, she saved what was most precious to her.  Her babies.

With all her squirrels out of harm’s way, she skittered back down and started gathering items to help rebuild a new nest.  Oddly enough, she collected a lot of the stuffing from the toy squirrel. For some reason, that felt like poetic justice, though I wouldn’t tell Lady.  And I kept my squirrel guard dog inside, allowing the still panicked mama all the time she needed to do her work.  I’ve never seen a squirrel work so hard. 

Lady wasn’t happy I’d kept her from her job of ridding the yard of squirrels, but I knew the mama squirrel was ever so grateful.  And it just reconfirmed what I’ve always known.  There is nothing like a mother’s love.

WINNERS!  WINNERS!  The winners of last week’s blog with Teri Thackston are:  Debbie Lynn Pittman and Jan Nash!  Please email me at: christie (at) christie-craig.com with your preference of Amazon or B&N for your e-book.  Congratulations!

I’d also like to take a moment to give a HUGE thank you to all of my wonderful readers who helped me get Chosen at Nightfall to #3 on the New York Times Bestsellers List  and #25 on the USA Today List.  It was a phenomenal and exciting week for me!  THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

Now, I’d love to re-introduce you to one of my friends who played along on my baby blog.  She is a fantastically talented author who dabbles in many genres and has oodles of books in romance and YA to her credit.  You’re gonna love her!  Please give a warm welcome to Mari Mancusi as she tells us about her book, Love at 11 . . . and don’t forget to leave a comment for a chance to win!  And, for everyone else, you’ll want to pick it up because it’s on sale for only 99 cents for the month of May!

If your book were an ice cream flavor, what flavor would it be?

 Rocky Road because life for my heroine can be kind of messy, a bit rocky at times, but in the end, oh-so-sweet.

How did you get your start in writing?

I feel like I got started writing before I could even pick up a pen, dictating stories for my mother to transcribe. My first book was a stunning saga called “My Horse Jennifer” about a horse who went to parties and such. When I was in high school I started writing serialized stories about my friends and the rock stars who loved them, passing out chapters every week in class. But it wasn’t until I was in my twenties that I actually sat my butt in a chair and forced myself to write an entire book. After a couple attempts, I ended up selling my first novel to Dorchester—a chick lit/time travel tale called “A Connecticut Fashionista in King Arthur’s Court.” Since then I’ve published 17 books in romance and YA.

What is your biggest dream or goal now?

My dreams changed a lot when I gave birth to my daughter two years ago. Back then I might have said “Hit the NYT list” or go on a worldwide book tour. Now I just want to be a good mommy and have lots of adventures with my little girl. It sound corny maybe, but it’s true.

 What has been your biggest fan girl moment?

Meeting and interviewing David Duchovney for the TV show I used to work for. I was a big time X-Files fan girl back in the day and being able to chat with him one-on-one was truly amazing. I’ve interviewed a lot of celebrities over the years, but none got my heart pumping like him! Also—you’ll be happy to know he’s amazing and cool in real life. (And even hotter in person.)

If you had to sum up your book in one word, what would it be?

A lot of reviewers have been using the word “heartwarming” and I kind of like that. It’s easy to write a book that’s funny or irreverent or sexy and exciting—but I think in the end, my favorite books are full of heart.

What is your favorite scene in the book?

The scene where Maddy’s parents tell her they’re getting a divorce. At the time I wrote it, my own parents had just announced their separation and I was really broken up about it. I poured a lot of my real emotions and frustrations into that scene and I think it shows on the page. In fact, it’s so real and raw that when the book first came out my dad sent me a very angry email, not liking how “he” was portrayed. I feel bad about that actually. But at the same time I think it was therapeutic, in a way, and comes off as a really strong scene.  

Any words of wisdom for aspiring authors?

Enjoy the writing process, love your characters, and don’t be in too much of a hurry to publish. Once you get that first book out—there’s going to be never-ending deadlines and pressures and whispers from critics. Writing that first book should be a pure joy that you can look back upon and remember.

That all sounds so wonderful!  Can you give us the blurb for Love at 11 and tell us how to find it?

When Maddy graduated from Columbia University, she was ready to change the world. She’d get a job at Newsline, meet a nice guy, and live happily ever after with a real designer handbag on her arm. Two years later, she’s stuck producing puff pieces for News 9 San Diego–where “if it bleeds, it leads.” She’s still single, her family’s falling apart, and so is her knock-off Kate Spade. 

Then Jamie Hayes walks through her newsroom door. The former filmmaker is now her cameraman and everything Maddy has ever dreamed of. Creative, smart, and sweet–with eyes that could make a girl melt. The perfect guy…but perfectly unavailable. And the more Maddy tries to stay away–the further she starts to fall.

Now a secret scoop from her favorite knock-off purse guy has Maddy chasing a lead that could make her career. Or destroy it forever. How far is she willing to go to broadcast the truth? And will this breaking news lead to more broken dreams…or an exclusive on Jamie’s heart? Stay tuned… It’s the story of a lifetime.

Great!  Thanks so much for being here, Mari!  Now, do any of you have a great fan girl moment to share?  Two lucky commenters will win a copy of Mari’s book, Love at 11 just for sharing!  Good luck!